Influencers find new ways to make money 🤑

According to a report by venture capital firm SignalFire, the creator economy of digital influencers is the fastest-growing type of small business. As a result, new startups are making it easier for digital creators to monetize their work.

A digital creator is someone who creates content for his or her fans via social media to consume. A digital creator is often seen as an opinion leader in a specific area such as fashion, gourmet, or general lifestyle. Most creators have monetized this content by selling partnerships and ads with brands. But now, more and more are taking matters into their own hands and directly getting support from their fans, especially as the platforms and ever-changing algorithms are getting more unreliable.

Fans get full control
The startup NewNew allows creators to engage with their fans by offering a polling environment where fans can pay to vote and have full control over a creator’s daily activities. This voting ranges from allowing fans to decide what video games the creator should play to permitting them to name a new pet.

Exclusive subscription model
Just like journalists growing tired of shrinking news outlets and layoffs and turning to building their own newsletter subscriptions through Substack and Patreon, creators are finding innovative ways to earn money from their fans. For example, Instagram influencers are creating Patreon-like paid Instagram accounts that provide exclusive content behind a private account for a monthly subscription fee. Others have leveraged the popular Discord servers to host paid-access communities.

More community options to come? 
While creators are getting more creative, tech companies are also openly encouraging this new digital economy. Twitter has announced a paid option for tweets called Super Follows as well as group features, and we are sure to see more innovation from other platforms soon.